A Burning Hunger: One Family's Struggle Against Apartheid

If the Mandelas were the generals in the fight for black liberation, the Mashininis were the foot soldiers. Theirs is a story of exile, imprisonment, torture, and loss, but also of dignity, courage, and strength in the face of appalling adversity. Originally published in Great Britain to critical acclaim, A Burning Hunger: One Family’s Struggle Against Apartheid tells a deeply moving human story and is one of the seminal books about the struggle against apartheid. This family, Joseph and Nomkhitha Mashinini and their thirteen children, became immersed in almost every facet of the liberation struggle—from guerrilla warfare to urban insurrection. Although Joseph and Nomkhitha were peaceful citizens who had never been involved in politics, five of their sons became leaders in the antiapartheid movement. When the students of Soweto rose up in 1976 to protest a new rule making Afrikaans the language of instruction, they were led by charismatic young Tsietsi Mashinini. Scores of students were shot down and hundreds were injured. Tsietsi’s actions on that day set in motion a chain of events that would forever change South Africa, define his family, and transform their lives. A Burning Hunger shows the human catastrophe that plagued generations of black Africans in the powerful story of one religious and law-abiding Soweto family. Basing her narrative on extensive research and interviews, Lynda Schuster richly portrays this remarkable family and in so doing reveals black South Africa during a time of momentous change.

In this reprint from 2004, Schuster recounts the story of the family of Tsietsi Mashini, who led demonstrations in 1976 against making Afrikaans the language used in schools in Soweto, South Africa, which then led to an uprising. Their story is a microcosm of the struggle against apartheid, Schuster argues. She uses their recollections, interviews, and documents to describe Tsietsi and his family's experiences fighting against apartheid, evading the authorities, and in prison, from the beginning of their family to his death in 1990. Schuster is a writer who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

This is an acclaimed account of a family of foot soldiers for black liberation in South Africa, whose lives were changed in the Soweto uprising. Published originally in the UK to wide reviews, this is its first publication in the U. S.

On June 16, 1976, the youth of Soweto rose up in protest against a new rule making Afrikaans the language of instruction in their schools. Tsietsi Mashinini, a charismatic high school student, led them in demonstrations that quickly turned into South Africas biggest rebellion. Tsietsis actions on that day set in motion a chain of events that changed his country irrevocably and forever defined his family. From that moment onward, the Mashinini name became the stuff of legend; many of Tsietsis twelve siblings and even his parents, law-abiding, church-going citizens, found themselves pulled inexorably into the fight against apartheid. Originally published in the United Kingdom to critical acclaim, A Burning Hunger tells the tale of this remarkable family. It is the story of black South Africa in microcosm, embracing just about every facet of the liberation struggle. Tsietsi and his brothers became leading players in everything from guerrilla warfare to urban insurrection.

Lynda Schuster worked as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal and the Christian Science Monitor in Africa, Central and South America, and the Middle East. Her writing has appeared in Granta, Utne, and the Atlantic Monthly. She now lives in Gainesville, Florida.